NFL’s Taylor Swift schedule conspiracy theory blasted to smithereens

Bill | Kansas City Chiefs
May 22, 2024

Swift has not yet gained enough pull in NFL circles to create the schedule herself.

Taylor Swift smiling next to NFL logo

Much has been made about Taylor Swift’s involvement in the NFL world ever since she started dating Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce. Everyone has contributed their two cents on the subject, including the Los Angeles Chargers’ social media team, who recently poked fun at Swift and Kelce’s private jet usage.

One recent talking point in the pop culture lexicon has been Swift’s supposed influence on the NFL’s schedule. However, NFL Vice President of Broadcast Planning Mike North debunked the conspiracy Tuesday, via ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

“She had a bigger influence on my niece Gabby’s bat mitzvah last weekend,” North said. “It was Gabby’s version, so there was a lot of Taylor being played at the bat mitzvah, so mazel tov, Gabby. She had a bigger influence on the bat mitzvah than she did on our schedule.”

Is North covering for an elaborate scandal, or is he playfully shutting down a silly rumor?

Swift technically did influence the NFL schedule, but not in the conspiracy type of way

Dec. 31, 2023: Fans wave big heads of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift during the Kansas City Chiefs' game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium.© Sam Greene / USA TODAY NETWORK

With Swift constantly the center of attention at Chiefs games last season, fans have been speculating that the league would continue to put the team on primetime to increase viewership. Some fans are skeptical of North’s denial, such as @JoshBrown06, who tweeted a classic GIF in response.

However, North doubled down on the explanation.

“Look, we know she’s touring still, right,” North continued. “So there’s a tour date in Miami, in Indianapolis, and one more maybe. New Orleans? Something like that. So when those teams submitted their scheduling forms at the start, they said ‘Hey, here’s everything we want, open at home, close at home, mid-season bye, don’t give us a three-game road trip,’ all the things they normally say. ‘And also our stadium is hopefully not available to you, NFL, in Week 8, because we do have an event going on.’”

It’s not hard to guess what non-football event these NFL teams would want to schedule around.

“Obviously, we knew it was a Taylor Swift concert,” North continued. “As best we could, we try to accommodate, whether it’s Taylor Swift, or Green Day, or Billy Joel, or Ed Sheeran, or P!nk, or Lady GaGa, or anybody else out on tour, we know these buildings are used for things other than NFL football. So to the extent that the Dolphins, the Saints, and the Colts each had one weekend this year where they had hoped to be on the road or bye, yes, Taylor Swift impacted the NFL schedule. Did the NFL strategically try to schedule Chiefs games near her tour dates so that she could attend? I promise you we didn’t.”

As powerful as Swift’s star power is, it turns out that she didn’t influence the schedule any more than any other stadium-touring artist would. While some fans won’t ever be convinced that she’s not in a dark room planning with NFL executives behind the scenes, rational football watchers can rest easy knowing that the extent of her power is exposing the game to the Swifties.

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